Each year, I look forward to autumn and the opportunity for the Sheriff’s Office to thank the community for the overwhelming support given to law enforcement by hosting our annual “Building Unity in the Community” cookout.  This annual event will be held Saturday, October 19^th, at Morningside Elementary School from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  Morningside Elementary is located at 120 Sunset Lane between Rosser Lane and Vick Street, a block away from the intersection of Radium Springs Road and Oakridge Drive. This event is our way of saying thanks to the citizens of this community.

A sense of community is incredibly important.  In 2010, the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office adopted the slogan “Building Unity in the Community” and began launching initiatives to live up to that slogan.  We conducted our first annual cookout that year at the Carver Sports Complex, and have continued annually, changing venues each year to allow more people to take advantage of what the event has to offer. The only exception was 2018 when our event was cancelled due to Hurricane Michael.

Even though the cookout is taking place at Morningside Elementary, all citizens of Dougherty County are invited to attend. Hopefully, as the event grows, people will want to attend each year. This will encourage people to mingle across-town in a way that builds a greater city/county-wide sense of community.

The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office also seeks to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community in many different ways and this is one of them.  Families and citizens can attend and have an opportunity to sit down and talk with law enforcement and other organizations that have resources available to the citizens of Albany/Dougherty County. This is perhaps more important today than ever when communities across the country are working to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the citizens. This event also gives us in law enforcement an opportunity to thank the citizens for the exemplary support we continually receive.

The employees of the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office are the most supportive and caring I have had the good fortune to work with. I want you to come out and meet some of these individuals and let us get to know you.  We want to hear your concerns and discuss any issues you may be having.  We will have representatives from many different areas of expertise available to answer questions.  There will be representatives from other public safety agencies as well.   We will serve chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, have other good food to eat as well as games, a bouncy house, and other activities for the children. I will also be giving away a few of my famous cakes!

The event is free to the public; however, we are accepting sponsors and/or donations to assist us in making it as successful as possible.  We also encourage vendors and community partners to assist with making this event meaningful, useful, and enjoyable.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Capt. Terron Hayes at (229) 344-4363.